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Post by Draco on Jan 24, 2010 14:50:11 GMT -5
<<Tabloid Town Hospital of Ruins>>
He watched as Strife leaped backwards, then watched the orb of ooze come directly at him. Sighing he knew he couldn't stop it. The only real option was to cut his legs off and try to get away that way. Instead he holds his attack stance.
"If I'm turning to stone, at least I'll make a decent statue."
Once the ooze makes contact with him, he can feel his clothes stiffening, followed by his body. Within moments he is a complete statue. The dark aura around his blade slowly fades away.
<<Inside Draco's Mind>>
Draco sits in complete darkness.
"Well that could have gone better. Explosives might have been good. Or maybe I should have slashed his armor when I landed. It would have cut through with the shadow fusion. Well It's not like I can do anything now."
"That can change."
"Great, now I can hear voices..."
"You can have the power to make a difference."
"Voices that are offering power."
"You can have the power to fight Strife."
"That guy's name was Strife?"
"You might not want to once you join us though."
"Strife? He's causing it, that's for sure."
"...Are you even listening anymore? I'm offering you power! Freedom from this stone!"
"What was it I read in a book somewhere... I think the superior gave it to me... 'Sometimes the light must travel in the darkness to protect. Only those who can see the gray can ever know true light and darkness. Not all that is dark is lost to the world of light.'"
He stands up staring into what he assumed was the sky.
"You have a deal, but you promise me control!"
A blood red outline of a face, consisting of very evil eyes and mouth only, appears in the sky.
"Then we are in agreement. You will have control. Meet yourself!"
Another person walks up to Draco, looking exactly like him except for his eyes. Instead of green eyes he had static filled eyes and a dark shadow under them.
"Kukukuku, it will be nice to take over this body of yours."
"This wasn't the deal."
"Wasn't it? You wanted control. You do, just not you you. I just brought out your inner demon, your dark side, your rage, your FEAR. He is part of you, so he IS you."
"You can't do this!"
"Don't worry Draco, I'll say hi to your friends for you. Kukukukuku."
Draco charges his doppelganger, but he fades away into the darkness before he reaches him. His evil laughter the only thing heard, as the face in the sky fades away.
<<Tabloid Town Hospital Ruins>>
The statue of Draco sits there, unmoving. The now stone blade begins to glow again, this time wisps of red are mixed into the black aura. The statue begins to shake violently, then explodes. When the dust clears Draco stands unfazed by the ooze. His eyes full of static, and shadows under his eyes. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a pair of black sunglasses and puts them on.
<<Draco's Mind>>
Draco could see everything. In the darkness a small screen like window appeared. He was looking out of his own eyes, while at the same time couldn't do a thing about what his body was doing.
"Hey! Those are mine!"
"Ours."
<<Tabloid Town Hospital of Ruins>>
Underdeep!Draco sheaths his blade and stretches. He rotates his arms a few times, then his neck. He stares in the direction that Strife ran off to. A smirk forms on his face. He disappears in a flash, reappearing down several feet away, and disappears again. He continues this pattern to towards the center of town.971
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Post by Celestial on Jan 24, 2010 18:09:49 GMT -5
((Outside Mage Manor))
The tornado was having no effect on the ships, aside from rocking them. One seemed damaged but the others didn't even stray off their course. Celestial just smiled sadistically. She had planned to go easy on them but there really was no choice.
Let me deal with them.
((Tabloid Town))
The winds picked up over the entrances to the Underdeep, picking up tiny globules of it. They were carried by them into the clouds where they mingled with the tornado that already existed. That one split off to pursue the supposedly damaged ship. From the rest of the storm, more Underdeep-infused tornados sprouted, each one bigger than the first.
They set about the ships like wolves would when they come upon a flock. With each gust, droplets of Underdeep were dislodged and filtered in through the metallic hulls to reach the minds of the people inside. The droplets assembled to become one and began poisoning the minds of all the people inside, showing them what fear was.
The tornado that pursued the damaged ship zig-zagged behind it, like a shark waiting to strike. It was more precise, targeting the front section where the pilot would be. The Underdeep came off it too and looked for the ones in charge. A black ooze slithered along the ship's surface and onto the windows, a few drops coming through and landing on the controls. From there it would have no problem getting to the technicians and the one giving orders.
The first little bit of Underdeep jumped at the first technician, filling his mind with his worst fears.
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Jan 24, 2010 18:58:05 GMT -5
Outside Mage Manor
Lupehunter knew that he had to make his move and he thought that now was a good time to do so. He did witness the eyes change colour, although he wasn't sure if Owen noticed it.
After he transformed into his human form, he quickly summoned a large ball of light and promptly threw it, hoping that it would blind the dragon mage, even if it was momentarily. Then he hopped out of his hiding spot and tackled the dragon mage.
"Owen, nice job distracting her," Lupehunter told Owen as he kept an eye out on the dragon mage.
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Post by Ikkin on Jan 24, 2010 20:51:25 GMT -5
(Apologies to Nasuella - I hope you don't mind if I take control of Sev back in the middle of your unfinished post ^^; )
Sev listened as intently as he could, trying to ignore the way the words faded in and out as the lizard-ninja explained firebirds to him.
"I... am not of this world. My family--born of draconic heritage centuries back, were born and lived on another world. Folklore declared them as noble and strong, but they had become what people called firebirds. It was an insult - one they deserved.
"Our stories told that firebirds were once champions of the sun mother. But they enjoyed power too much, growing hateful and self-centered. Even after the sun mother removed their power...
"I never saw firebirds before I came to this world. I only knew what I had been taught. Firebirds were almost immortal; only the flame of another bird could kill it... perhaps that is a fit metaphor. My family was lost in a similar way. I was one of the few to escape."
Sev wasn't quite sure where the ninja was going with his history lesson, and only half-heard parts of it, but he started paying more attention once he mentioned that firebirds were "almost immortal." Did that mean they weren't entirely immortal? If so...
"You... returned from the dead? Are you truly a firebird? When a firebird dies, like most living things, they remain dead forever."
Well, there it was. Firebirds died permanently. And if the only person around believed Sev to be a firebird...
"...revive?" Sev asked, just to be sure. "Firebirds... don't revive?"
"No."
"That's what... I am, then," Sev lied. And, with that, he finally allowed himself to rest, the phoenix fire consuming him as it had many times in the past.
He found himself outside his body once again, finally free from the excruciating pain he'd been fighting against since... what felt like weeks. His mind was finally clear.
There was just one problem - everything else. The water nearby had started to turn black, petrifying everything that it touched. It reached up onto the shore, covering the ashes that Sev had left behind when his body had gone up in flames.
And, disturbingly enough, they didn't turn to stone. Instead, they rose up once more, taking on the form of a phoenix once more, except jet-black in color.
If Sev had the time to wonder what might have caused that to happen, he might have realized that the fact that he was dead didn't necessarily mean that the grey magic composing his previous body couldn't use his imagination to revive itself.
As it was, Sev was far more concerned with making sure his ally didn't get killed. He revived himself in a flash of fire, then swooped down on the lizard ninja, holding his claws out.
"Grab on!" he said. "I'll take you to the Manor - it should be safe there!"
***
"Bandages... um..." one of the ninja said, "...Not on hand, but I'm pretty sure there's some back at the dojo. I could help you find some if you want. And yeah, well... I'm not really sure where the tiger came from. But it seems friendly and wants us to follow it."
"That would be good," Ikkin said, "though I'd be interested in knowing what the tiger wants."
Ikkin waited to see if the tiger would make any sort of response, but as time stretched out, it became clear that it wasn't going to do much.
And, to make matters worse, there seemed to be something black growing on the ground, extending towards them and turning things to stone in its path.
"Maybe we'd be better getting out of here," she said. "Follow me - I'm sure the Manor should be safe." Ikkin wasn't sure if this was true, but she did know that was where Sev was going, and she wasn't about to leave him behind. Besides, it was as good a guess as anything.
She gave the ninja a few seconds to decide what they wanted to do, then started to fly off in the Manor's direction, looking back to make sure that she wasn't getting ahead of anyone who wanted to follow her.
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Post by Huntress on Jan 24, 2010 22:16:25 GMT -5
((Tabloid Town harbor))
Hunty turned to look at the White Weewoo. The brigantine floated there silently, showing no signs of sentience beyond that of a couple tons of dead wood. Just a ship. Just a hull and a jungle of lines sticking to masts and yards above it.
"If she turns into stone," she said, " she'll probably sink, yes. But she won't die. And we'll find a way to fix her. Fix all of this. This is our home, we won't let it go down."
Hunty glanced at the churning waters. The Underdeep was surfacing here too.
"But she can protect herself, so if she's merely damaged, may the gods have mercy on whatever this heathen horror has in place of a soul," she said with a small grin. "Zylaa, we're not taking the blarf. He's much too big for a spaceship, and even if he wasn't, I wouldn't want to take him to small confined quarters together with thousands of people. I like chaos, but only if I myself have enough air to breathe within it. You, boy?"
"Blrp?" The blarf had sat down, the frontmost pair of paws hanging in the air, and was eyeing her a little sulkily.
"Go find Zagora. You'll be safe with her."
"Blarf." The blarf nodded, but didn't move. Hunty sighed and turned away, towards the Fleet spaceship that'd landed a short distance away.
The spaceship was already halfway filled with very nervous-looking people and at the doorway stood an equally nervous-looking officer who frankly looked much too young to be an officer. He was thin, had freckles and his uniform was so clean that it shone. He'd been watching the blarf with a kind of terrified awe, and now that awe focused on the captain as she approached the ship.
"Um, hello, miss," he said, trying hard to sound authoritative. "Weapons aren't allowed, miss, sorry."
"What weapons?" Hunty glanced at her monstrous crossbow that wasn't much shorter than herself. "That weapon. O-kay, tell you what, I'll leave it at the reception or whatever you have up there. But I'll need it to be at least on the same planet."
"I don't think-" the officer began, but at that point Hunty's communicator came to life with a voice he knew all too well. Hunty, promptly forgetting that the guy existed, gestured impatiently at her crew to board the spaceship while digging the communicator out.
"Hey, are you still all right? I think I might have found a friend of yours, Merpo. If it's the guy I think it is, what can you tell me about him?"
"Still, kheh. With times like these you'd have to check every two minutes." Hunty suppressed a lazy yawn but snapped to instant attention upon the final words. "Merpo? That Merpo? Middle-aged guy, looks like a neurotic peacock? Dangit, I hadn't even hoped for him to show up alive. Listen, you keep a close eye on him, y'hear? He's a..." She paused. There were a lot of nasty half-truths and untold things in this story that now all of a sudden came back to the light.
"I'll tell you what I know, but not what I'm guessing, at least not yet," she said with a scowl. "Back when we came to Spacefleet, that first time, what's it been now, a year? Merpo was the guy who bought tickets for-" ...Cyborg and Speck on a commercial flight so that they wouldn't be associated with the pirate crew who travelled on Keng's ship, ohcraponnacracker. "-us. He wanted that notebook in return. Bloody Mary tells me that this was his research on the Underdeep. I imagine he may well be the best Underdeep expert on this planet. Actually we wanted to talk to him for that exact reason, but he disappeared on us. That mansion we kinda sorta tore apart tonight was his, on that note. Might want to offer him a compensatory box of candy or whatever it is you guys do in those situations."
She glanced aside. She'd been standing by the spaceship doorway the whole time, and the young officer was still standing guard next to the door.
"Are you officer material, kid?" she asked.
The officer stared straight ahead. "I'm sorry, miss, but I just went temporarily deaf five minutes ago and can't hear a word you're saying. Family quirk, miss."
Hunty grinned. "Good man."
"Thank you, miss. Oh, hurry up, you people, there seems to be a tornado coming!" The latter part was shouted out to Rane and his crew who had appeared on the pier and were headed towards the ship. "Get inside, please, once they're on, we're lifting off."
The captain nodded, edged inside, shot a quick glance around to make sure her entire crew was present, and curled up in one of the chairs. These were fast ships, but even a little sleep would now be better than no sleep.
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Post by Draco on Jan 24, 2010 22:23:44 GMT -5
<<Brassport, Aerodome>>
Lina's ship was now filled with a large number of people. Luckily being where she was, she picked up mechanics and experienced fliers. Luckily she also managed to pick up a pilot, so she moved over to the captains chair. Feeling better about not crashing the ship, she was thinking of orders.
"I think it's time to pull in the lifts and ladders. Then we can fly out into the city and pick up as many people as we can. I think that will be good. Yes."
The pilot, and several other random NPCs who are working controls, nod their heads. Within moments the ship lurches forward, and slowly flies out of the aerodome, and into the main part of the city.
Lina presses a button next to the captain's chair, and taps on a microphone.
"Umm... Excuse me... If you are in need of help, please fly onto the ship, grab onto the ladders or ropes we are about to let down, or wave flags for us to know where to pick up... Yes, I think that sounds ok."
Once she releases the button, the ladders and ropes drop down from the ship again. Occasionally someone will grab onto them and into the ship. Every now and then a family or group of people will wave flags, and the ship will try to steer close enough for them to board. Other people are picked up with smaller ships and flown to the ship.
"When we are done with picking up as many people as we can, we are leaving the city. I need to find Mr. Maxwell, because those are the orders I am given. Yes..."
A random NPC doesn't turn his head but replies to her, "How do we find him?"
Lina remains quiet, then assumes the fetal position.
"I don't know..."
<<Somewhere between Tabloid Town and Mage Manor>>
The Phantom Merc rockets down the countryside.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2010 0:00:55 GMT -5
The Skies Near Brassport
The flying fiends had changed direction and fired some sort of blast at him. Sarn dodged easily enough but the updraft of wind tipped him off balance and he quickly lost altitude before he was able to steady himself. He made a note to be more careful and sped back up again. He wasn’t sure in which direction they were flying and he didn’t care to glance at the sun to check lest his inattention result in something worse than being thrown off balance.
As he flew, he tried to think what he would do when … if … he caught up with the duo. They were quite obviously shape shifters so very little elemental enchantment would be affective. Nor did he have the energy to create any sort of containment to hold them. He would have to use their own powers against them. Sarn had never been good at the finer enchantments … those that dealt with healing and manipulations of the mind were fine arts that his fiery personality could never master. But he had to try.
Sarn let the melody of the dancing stars wash over him and began to weave enchantment about himself. He sang a ward into his music and then began to replicate his own song. From all around him, images of himself began to appear, each identical to the original from which they were being created. They floated ethereally along, each appearing totally solid but Sarn knew that they were not.
Using a new thread of notes, Sarn directed the images to fly in a wide circle around the fleeing shape shifters. One of them dived down and swooped up, appearing just in front of the group with an arrow fitted on his shaft.
His distraction created, Sarn pushed harder, catching up to them as quickly as his tired body would let him. When he felt he was close enough, the song changed and hundreds of golden-winged images swarmed in a great rustling cloud around the fleeing pair, swooping, ducking, diving and doing their best to confuse them. Under cover of the flurry, the real Sarn tilted his wings and turned sharply, coming up right next to the Roc’s giant talons.
Drawing the blade that rested perpetually over his back next to his quiver, he slashed at where he thought the bird’s tendons must be, hoping to cause the talon to snap open again. Without looking to see if his aim was true, he ducked down to the other shape shifter, aimed a blow at … him? … Her? … It … all he could do was hope that he could catch Rikku if she fell.
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Post by Zylaa on Jan 25, 2010 0:51:31 GMT -5
((The wreckage of Merpo's place--> en route to Mage Manor))
When the dragon had broken through the house, rubble showered the courtyard, crushing the cobbles and taking out sections of the wall. One human-sized boulder smashed to the ground mere inches to the right of the unconscious Kassandra Amethyst Moonbeam. Another, on a collision course with her head, changed tack at the last second to crash to her left. At this point, the door the Sue was tied to, torn between the force of gravity and the Sue force, broke into splinters rather than falling onto Kassandra, and she slumped sideways onto the first boulder, the rope binding her hands sliding off.
By the time the Sue woke up, the rubble had settled, and she awoke with a gasp, letting the story settle into place around her.
Her mentor's home, gone! Obliterated, no doubt by the pirates in their bloodthirsty, mindless destruction. And her mentor... she could only hope that he had escaped. He probably had, she reasoned, as wise old mentors had a way of showing back up at convenient moments. Whether she wanted to or not, she was giving him... insurance, if you will. Extra protection from the story's eccentricities.
She allowed herself one moment to drop pretense and try to figure out what exactly these eccentricities were.
That's when the Underdeep exploded.
Kassandra scrambled up the boulder, watching in horror as ooze flowed past, watching the buildings, even the stone she stood on turn to... well, slightly darker stone, in the boulder's case, but everything else was stone too. For a moment she stared around in genuine terror.
Fortunately for her, the genuine terror of a Mary-Sue is one of the strongest local-reality-altering forces known.
Kassandra reached into her pocket and clung desperately to her family heirloom, the one thing left of her past, as if that could save her from the second wave of black ooze rushing towards her.
As the family heirloom was in fact a Plot Device created specially by her grandmother, Raven Obsidian Moonbeam, it turned out it could.
And the beautiful girl could only gasp in shock and delight as the ooze melted away as it approached her, turning into glitter that floated harmlessly away... she had been saved! But there were others out there, so many more, suffering. Those cursed pirates! Fiends! They'd brought this upon the world, sure enough, and Kassandra wasn't about to let them get away with it.
People seemed to be splitting up.. to space and to the mages. Kassandra listened, felt the story, where it would flow.
The pirates, villains, thieves, were going to Space. That was well and good. Space was... for lack of a better word... alien. Unfamiliar. Easy to fear and loath. They had produced this commander Strife, after all. The mages, on the other hand... she had heard that the mages knew secrets and lore far beyond mere mortals. If anyone could stop this plague, they could! And they were kind, too, kind enough to take in a poor child who had lost her dear mentor. And they needed to know about the pirates' treachery.
Kassandra smiled as she felt the story flow through her. This was power, she thought, not that dolt on the mountain. You could do anything with a story.
Except her story couldn't go any further until she got to Mage Manor...
With a sigh, Kassandra stared wistfully off in the direction of the Manor. It wasn't long til she heard hoofbeats.
Pacing over the ooze, as unaffected as she, Deus Ex Machina approached. His mane drooped, his coat was smeared with dust, but he was still, very obviously, a strong white stallion. Kassandra patted him as he got close.
"Brave horse," she whispered. "You've come to save me."
"Milady, you have saved yourself," Deus said wisely. "But I am here to serve. Mage Manor is the safest place now. You will be safe there. There are greater forces at work than ooze. Fear walks the streets."
And the waiflike girl climbed up to the faithful horse's back and clung to his neck, shedding a single tear as he cantered through the blackened town...
"Deus," she said sadly, "Do you think the world can survive this?"
"The world will survive," he said, voice clear and carrying despite his breaking into a gallop. "So long as we are here."
Kassandra looked around and noted that they were, for a moment, away from the enveloping ooze and onto black stone, and she let her story slip out of her grasp long enough to say, admiration clear in her voice, "You're good at this."
"But it's true!" Deus said. "This is a world of stories. Just speak to the poor, battered Fourth Wall. And try as they might, authors cannot ever be rid of us entirely." Kassandra looked at him with a mix of disgust and respect-- an unusual combination, but one she felt he merited.
"Just get me there," she said, and slipped back into her story, and the girl drew ever closer to the Mages, bringing the vital knowledge that only she could share.
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Post by Scar on Jan 25, 2010 4:10:25 GMT -5
- Brassport Assembly Hall -
Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, was getting rather tired at the lack of Adventure. All this drama and talking was all well and good but when it came to it he preferred the direct approach. Knocking that villainess down was pretty satisfying but it just felt ... what did they call it? ... Anti-Climatic? He had expected an explosion at that point personally.
He looked back up to the ceiling again at the tiny dots in the sky, knowing there was no way to catch up to the beasts, and sighed. Ah well, maybe next tim --
Lady Sarinon screamed and, before he could catch her she fell to the floor, shivering violently. He hesitated unsure on what to make of it. Then before his eyes she transformed into a small red and silver fox, a bundle of fluff sitting atop a pile of what was once Lady Sarinon's clothes.
Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, stared with his mouth open. There was no way Lady Sarinon could a kitsune, the femme fatales of the Blood Drop Islands who could turn into foxes to devour any man unfortunate enough to fall under their spell. For starters she was cute and fluffy while the kitsune were five feet tall (All the better to pin you down) and had rows upon rows of jagged teeth (All the better to ... well, us men usually do our best not to think of it)
Someone shoved him in the back and he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over Sarinon. He quickly scooped the little fox into his arms before she got trampled and pushed his way past the crowd to the exit. Things hadn't gone quite as well as he'd hoped but he was still a Gentleman and his main priority was getting his mark out of harm's way.
Which was easier said than done. It seemed like everyone in whatever remained of Brassport were trying to cram into the Assembly Hall, bringing with them a frantic chorus of wails, screams and downright begging. But Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, knew that their faces all held one thing in common; just like the fool being dragged slowly off by the daemon vines of Horus, the people of Brassport was looking for salvation.
And they went looking for it from one man.
"Help us Mr. Blackstone! Please save us!"
"The black flood, it came out of nowhere like a wrench-cursed cog, sir!"
"It turned my husband to stone when he touched it sir! It was horrible, my poor Fred!"
A black flood that turns people into stone huh? Sounded like the devil ooze of the Tuatara Wastes and he knew that wasn't to be messed with. Time for Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, to beat a hasty retr --
Lady Sarinon chose that moment to dig her sharp little claws into his arm, glaring up at him as if she knew what he was thinking of.
He sighed held on tight to the bundle of fur. Time to be an Adventurer.
It took him some time but he eventually made it to the main podium where Blackstone still stood, petrified, his lower lip quivering. That monstrous transformation must've taken the wind from his sails. Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, snorted. Poor fellow was just a Suit - them business types - not an Adventurer.
He strode up to the podium and settled Sarinon comfortably in one arm before grabbing Blackstone by his ruffled collar and shaking him roughly. "Snap out of it, man! These people came all the way here for a leader not a whimpering wreck!"
"I ... I ..."
"Blackstone we need to get everyone out of the city before whatever it is out there gets to us."
The man seemed to gasp for an answer, letting out a small whimper.
Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, turned to the crowd and shouted. "Can I have silence, please! Quiet. Now! I mean it! Do you want to be saved or not?"
The din quickly turned into a low murmur as all ears strained to hear Blackstone's orders.
"Airships. Launch all airships," Blackstone said finally.
Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, whirled to face the crowd, pointing to a knot of aviators. (You could always tell. They always wore goggles) "You heard the man, hop to it! Get the airships hot and ready to fly. The rest of you head to the Aerodome and get in the nearest available airship and I swear if I see any of you not lining up I will personally make sure you know what happened to the Garlock of Snarllack Isle when it decided to eat me for breakfast." He paused to let his words sink in. "GOT IT?"
All heads nodded in unison. Under normal circumstances, the hard working men and women of Blackstone Industries would defer to Mr. Blackstone himself but nevertheless they tend not to argue with someone who was brave enough not to wear pants. It stirred up something primal within them, harking back to the days when one did not argue with the roaring barbarian with the painted face, despite how girly he looked in that kilt. In fact you either ran the other way or let him chop your head off while you peed your pants.
Also the fluffy fox was just too adorable to say no to.
As the crowd filed slowly out of the hall, Oscar propped up Blackstone with his free arm and growled at him.
"We need your airship."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2010 4:59:04 GMT -5
<<Ninja Dojo>>Well. At least the other two had enough sense to leave. Aly sat there, panting heavily, her quiver still hanging over her chest. Pyra, that was the closest she'd gotten to getting killed in a while. [ Aly?] "Lika, go." [ Don't you need--] " Go.[ Aly. What are you going to do?] "I'm coming back, don't worry. Go to Mage Manor." She started after Kiddo without another word. Lika, sensing that following would be unwise, grimaced and padded in the other direction. There were a few things concerning the mage, all of them related to her outburst. She'd been in those dark flames before--she knew what they could do, and her stomach twisted thinking of it. She sat in the middle of a clearing after a while, sighing. No black ooze that she could see. Kiddo would hopefully come back this way, and she could apologize. Ask about whatever the creature would hopefully find. It was better that she wasn't around people for a while, not with this dangerous atmosphere. A fight could break out any moment. That didn't sit well with the mage, not with what had just happened. She hated it. Fiercely. And more than that...she could feel that the dark magic wasn't being depleted either. So. She'd wait here for Kiddo, and if there wasn't enough time...well, that'd come when it came. *** <<Brassport>> -Ro-Ro gritted her teeth at Sarn's call, watching the intruders fly away with Rikku caught in one's claws. Sarn chased after them, and left them stranded with no real way of flying after them. She started off immediately after them, grabbing a dagger from her side and throwing her arm back. They hadn't gone far. If she was quick, and accurate, maybe she could hit-- "Hey, what're you doing?" A hand latched onto hers, making the knight stumble and rush to catch herself. She looked behind, not all that surprised. "Asta," she growled roughly, looking back up to the skies and getting ready to throw again. The hand clamped onto her wrist in response. "Hold on a minute," the alchemist said flatly. "I don't know what kind of laws of physics you have, but where I come from, that won't hit in a million years." Ro grimaced and jammed the dagger back. She was right. Unfortunately. "Then what?" she snapped, looking around. "We need to follow." "I figured," Asta replied dryly. She was handling this surprisingly well, which the knight figured would dissolve as soon as this never-ending stream of insanity slowed. Still. Commendable. "We need an airship." "They look slow." "They are, but..." She glanced around, then took a few capsules from her belt and sprinted towards one of the streets outside the Assembly Hall. "This way." "You can follow them?" "It might be a bit illegal, but...I know where a few of the faster models are stored." <<Brassport>> -AstaDangit, those guys were fast. It wasn't like she'd expected to keep up with them by running in any case, but it made the distance all the more frustrating. She skidding to a halt at a large warehouse, tossing a capsule at the lock. It exploded, and a heavy hand shoved her aside. The pommel of a sword slammed at the remains of the lock, and the door swung open, Ro rushing inside. "Where?" she asked simply. "Here." Asta had been in here before, with a friend that had shown her around some of the airships. Most of them were big, not exceptionally grand or fancy, but still impressive. And then there were smaller things, halfway between airships and tiny airplanes--small, covered steam-powered ships for about 5 or 6 people. Two and a bird were definitely okay. "I don't like this." "You don't have to," the alchemist replied simply, frowning at the key sets. They were locked into the wall with strong alloys, made to be unlocked with certain combinations on a lock. She didn't have time for that. "This is an emergency, and I'm dragging you along." A hand went to the loop on one set of keys, and she concentrated. Alloys were hard, but if she could separate it and go from there... "Unlikely." She felt the change a moment later, and stuck the point of her own shortsword in, prying. It popped off easily, and the keys fell to the floor for her to grab. "Let's go." Ro quickly jumped in after Asta, watching her fiddle with controls. The alchemist stared at the panel, busily flicking things. A promising sound rang as the engines came to life, steam starting to hiss from the top, and she slammed a hand onto a button to let the warehouse doors open. "We're off," she said, starting the little ship out the doors and into the air. Sarn, Rikku, and the intruders were still out there, visible, though they'd gained some distance. Ro squinted at them. "This isn't yours." "I like airships a lot. I actually was planning to buy one soon, after I got more experience." She smiled. "I've worked a lot. I can pay it off after this." Plus, many, many other airships were being mobilized anyway. "We'll help them--" Asta stopped, seeing an explosion of figures around Sarn, followed by absolute chaos above them. "Maybe not." "Fly ahead and cut off," Ro ordered, standing at the front. " Vamos a luchar." Asta had no idea what that meant, but she sped ahead anyway. Hopefully, it'd be enough. Too bad this didn't have any weapons. Oh well. They'd improvise.
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Post by PFA on Jan 25, 2010 10:32:20 GMT -5
((Phantom Merc, near hospital))
Jernath jumped, startled as the demons started to surround them. Thankfully, Gil seemed to know what he was doing, and the demons had vanished after a while anyway. Jernath groaned inwardly. Perhaps thinking about things getting worse would only curse them further.
"Mage Manor?" Jernath blinked in response. "I think it's just down that road and you take a left... not sure why we'd want to go there, though, unless we wanted to find one of those healer people for Scar. I think I'd rather check out this Brassport place, though. Do they have any doctors there?"
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((Forest, near Ninja Dojo))
"Maybe we'd be better getting out of here," Ikkin said. "Follow me - I'm sure the Manor should be safe."
PFA certainly wasn't about to argue, what with the weird black substance that was sprouting up all around them. She wasn't sure she had any way of actually harming whatever that stuff was. So with a lack of other ideas, she sprinted after Ikkin, being sure to keep up and not let the kitsune out of her sight.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2010 19:00:27 GMT -5
Brassport
At first she worried about people’s reactions. She had kept her ability secret for all these years, but now everyone who had heard her cries of agony and looked in her direction knew. She cowered down hoping to hide among her own discarded clothing, but Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer scooped her up into his arms. She was just about to clamp her jaws down on his hand but considering that he had saved her from being trampled …
Her fox ears were hyper-sensitive and she heard each voice clearly as the crowed fretted and cried for help. Something was moving slowly through the city and turning it to stone. It had already reached the glassmaker’s district on the west side of the city and the entire place would soon become a fossil. At least the ancient city would be preserved.
Mr Featherstone took easy control of the crowd. Panicked masses listen to the loudest voice and his certainly fit the bill. Sarinon felt his tension as his arm began to tighten around her body. She spluttered slightly and gasped before letting off a tiny yipp.
”Mr Featherstone, I would much appreciate you loosening your grip. It is hard to breath.” Her gentle voice spoke inside his mind. She hoped he wouldn’t be too shocked and drop her. A few feet wouldn’t hurt a human, but she was much smaller and her fox body was just as sickly as her human one.
She wriggled free of his grasp and leaped onto an overturned chair. Bounding along the edge of the raised dais, she paused only when she was near one of the side doors which stood ajar. ”Follow me. The airship is this way.” She remembered well where Mr Blackstone’s airship was tied since she had been one of the engineers who had helped build and, for a time, fly it. Sarinon darted through the door, swishing her tail as she went.
Well, no one would think to question how she had turned into a fox with so much commotion going on. At least for now.
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Post by Jina on Jan 26, 2010 4:50:18 GMT -5
Tabloid Town "The planet doesn't have to blow up to end, it's all turning to stone."
"But it still exists. And let's be honest here, the stone stuff will go away, eventually. Guild Wars III won't last forever, and everybody wants their bases back. Except the Mercs, apparently."
What am I talking about? ...Eh, probably the spiked drink. Or a wall made of... fawth, whatever that is.
...Yeah, I need sleep.
Hunty dealt with the guard, and Jina boarded the ship.
Yay, we're going to Spacefleet! And not for the sake of doing something they won't like! I love new experiences.
((And... Jina is now in that Godmodeable Autopilot Mode of Inactivity that we all know and love.))
Mage Manor Lupehunter came out of the bushes and attacked Celestial"Owen, nice job distracting her."
...Now hang on a minute, I still don't know who's on my side.
...If anyone.
...And I feel like beating a big lizard up, anyway.
He pulled out his sword, and took a running jump at Celestial.
The Air Patri looked sideways to see Sarn stick his sword into Sandra. Her claw opened, dropping Rikku. ((Or her illusion, whichever.))
Sarn flew down and attacked her with his sword. She Grappled it out of instinct, which would at least slow it down, and should stop it completely. Either way it wouldn't matter since she jumped straight at Sarn, tried to grab on to him and drag him down to the ground.
Sandra kept flying towards the hospital.
((And now Sandra's in inactivity mode, leaving me with just Owen and Patri.))
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2010 7:42:21 GMT -5
Airborne somewhere between Brassport and Tabloid Town
Rikku dropped like a dead weight. Sarn’s face contorted into a mask of horror as he saw the giant eagle drop his fellow mage. It was what he had been hoping for, but he hadn’t thought his plan through properly. His enchantment faded and the hundred or so clones of him faded with the music leaving the real Sarn floundering in midair.
The other shapeshifter parried his blow and leaped at him, latching onto his left arm and began to pull him down with her. They plummeted through the air, tossed and turned, until Sarn finally managed to position himself on top of her. With a mighty stance, he turned his sword and thrust down, then started a complicated series of movements, hacking and slashing at her as they fell through the skies.
It was only when they were dangerously close to the ground that Sarn managed to tear his arm free of the shapeshifter. He quickly scanned around him, spotted Rikku still falling dramatically, arms and legs flailing about helplessly. He flew up quickly, darted just below her and caught her in his outstretched arms. The combined weight was too much for his wings and all he could do was slow their dissent by using his wings as parachutes.
They hit the ground with a great thud, rolling several feet away from each other as Sarn let Rikku go. He took a moment to catch his breath and make sure he really was still alive and then his mind flicked back to Rikku and the shapeshifter. He clambered to his knees and crawled to the necromancer’s side, placing a hand on her cheek gently.
“Rikku?” he coughed, “are you ok?”
The Feberi glanced to the skies quickly, hoping the other shapeshifter wasn’t still alive. He didn’t have much energy. Even now he was slipping into the trance-like state that was Feberi sleep. His eyes glazed over and his body flopped uselessly by Rikku’s side. He would remain that way until his body had recovered enough.
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Post by Omni on Jan 27, 2010 2:33:14 GMT -5
Mage Manor
Omni walked down the hall of the Manor, fidgeting nervously. Not to say that she didn't fidget sometimes anyway, but this time, it wasn't just out of boredom or keeping her hands occupied.
She wandered into the library, where two Mages that she knew were studying. Both of them looked at her as she entered. "Is something wrong, Omniscia?" asked the Mage in robes, Par.
Omni looked at the two. "The Manor. Can you feel it?"
The more wild Mage, Fola, looked up in confusion. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I can feel the Manor."
"Can you feel it as well?"
The answer to this one took some more thought, and focus. Fola had closed her eyes, them opened them again in surprise. "...No. I don't feel it as strongly."
"That's what I'm worried about," Omni told the Mages. "The Manor's aura is weaker. I noticed awhile after the ooze appeared. It can't hold up forever."
As the color drained form Fola's face, Par asked. "How could the Manor's aura fade?"
Omni paused. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's getting overwhelmed by the ooze... except that it hasn't had trouble with previous attacks. I dunno. I could try channeling energy into it, but I could only do so much. Maybe if I had help from other Mages..."
"It would only be delaying the inevitable," Par pointed out.
"Maybe, but it would buy us time."
Par sighed. "Fine. Do as you wish. In the meantime, I will spend what time we have researching in an attempt to learn of the Manor's source of power, why it might be failing, and how it could be fixed."
Omni had to remind herself to smile. "Thanks, Par."
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